NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen keeps making “far-fetched” accusations against Russia which indicate that NATO is still unable to separate long-term security and stability interests in the Euro-Atlantic region from its own momentary goals, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

In his recent interview to Midi Libre, a French daily newspaper in Montpellier, Rasmussen “once again is trying, in a confrontational manner, to shift responsibility for the deteriorating crisis in Ukraine to Russia”, the ministry said.

“Like a broken record, statements are made about ‘the Russian aggression’ and ‘spheres of influence’, fervently reproducing other Cold War-era propaganda cliches to justify the notorious need to ‘close ranks’ in the face of an imaginary external threat to NATO countries, increase military expenditures and shore up the alliance’s relevancy in the 21st century,” the ministry said.